10:20 p.m. Tartan's gas line (pressured to 120 Atmospheres) melts and bursts. From this moment on, the platform's destruction is assured. 15 - 30 tonnes of gas are released instantaneously and immediately ignite. Gas bursts out at ½ a tonne per second, equivalent to the entire domestic consumption of gas in the UK. A massive fireball of 150 metres in diameter engulfs Piper Alpha.